The impact of individual values on the importance attached to training and development by Canadian and Irish line managers

Few empirical studies have examined the effect of individual values on the importance attached by individuals to training and development in organizations. We argue that individual values play an important role in decision-making processes (i.e., for commitment to training and development) and that such values are the product of socialisation processes operating at an organisational and societal level. Questionnaire data was collected from 340 Irish and Canadian line managers to test the hypothesis that individual values affect the importance attached by respondents to training and development. Capability values were found to be a significant positive predictor of the perceived importance of training and development. Supporting qualitative data indicated that respondents were acutely aware of the relationship between training and development and improvements in individual and organizational performance and productivity. Respondents also highlighted the beneficial impact of training and development in improving morale and career ambition. The findings emphasise the need for simultaneously examining both individual values and organisational factors as predictors of training and development activity.